War Summary, Day 373: Shin Bet Chief visited Cairo for hostage deal, IDF expands operations to the edge of Gaza City, Hezbollah fired around 180 rockets and drones, four soldiers were killed and 58 soldiers injured, Hezbollah terrorist captured and brought to Israel for interrogation, and a Hezbollah tunnel shaft found meters away from UNIFIL observation post.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
101 held captive in Gaza.
36 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
117 living hostages rescued.
37 hostage bodies rescued.
1,684 Israelis killed.
354 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
46 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
14 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
27,000 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
88,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Hostages:
– MK Eli Cohen told Kan 11 that in the Thursday Cabinet meeting, the head of the Mossad gave cabinet members a briefing with the location of every hostage in Gaza.
– PM Netanyahu: “The 101 of our hostages who are in Gaza have always been our chief concern. We will do everything to bring them, all of them, back home, the living and the deceased.”
– Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar made a discreet visit to Cairo today to meet with the head of Egyptian Intelligence regarding a potential hostage agreement. The focus of the trip was on exploring ways to revive negotiations and re-establish communications with Sinwar.
– Israeli officials say that Sinwar does not currently want a deal—he wants the war with Hezbollah and Iran to continue.
Gaza:
– IDF troops are continuing with the heavy operation in Jabaliya, and appear to be settling in for a longer mission of keeping the area clear of Hamas.
– The IDF continues to impose a blockade on the northernmost cities of Gaza, and slightly expanded the area of operation today, up until the edge of Gaza City.
– Hamas is telling Gazans to ignore IDF warnings to evacuate.
Lebanon:
– Hezbollah fired around 180 rockets and drones at Israel today, with a range from the northern border to the Haifa area, and one siren reaching Hadera.
– Tragedy: A Hezbollah drone impacted an IDF base just south of Haifa. Four soldiers were killed in the incident, their names have not yet been released. 58 soldiers were injured, including 7 seriously.
– Hezbollah threatened to increase attacks if Israel continues the ground maneuver (Israel will).
– Israel estimates that Hezbollah has 1/3rd of its arsenal remaining, after IDF airstrikes. This means 50,000 rockets and missiles. In the 2006 war, Hezbollah had 13,000.
– Israeli media reported that the IAF hasn’t struck any Hezbollah targets in Beirut in three days—since Netanyahu spoke with Biden. Sources said that Biden asked Netanyahu to limit airstrikes on Beirut, as a condition for assistance in the Iran attack. The Prime Minister’s Office and IDF denied any limit on airstrikes.
– Airstrikes continued in Southern Lebanon at full force, at an average of 200 targets per day.
– Four IDF divisions continue to advance in Lebanon, and take over key Hezbollah posts. 21 more villages were told to evacuate, as the IDF approaches.
– As IDF troops widen area of operations, they continue to find sophisticated Hezbollah tunnels full of supplies, as well as civilian homes, with amounts of ammunition not previously imagined. Signs that Hezbollah was preparing an invasion that would have made Hamas’s October 7th look like child’s play.
– For the first time in this war, the IDF revealed that a Hezbollah terrorist was captured and brought to Israel for interrogation. He was found inside a tunnel. It’s possible that terrorists were captured previously, but the information wasn’t released.
– Lebanon is requesting a ceasefire, backed by Western negotiators. Israel’s conditions: Full implementation of UN Resolution 1701 (Hezbollah away from the border, and disarmed), international oversight to prevent the rearmament of Hezbollah via Syria, and Israel must maintain the ability to continue acting against threats in Lebanon—including with pinpoint ground operations.
– Unverified Arabic sources claim that Mohammadreza Fallahzadeh, the deputy commander of the Iranian regime’s Quds Force, is acting as a temporary supervisor of Hezbollah, in Nasrallah’s place. If true, Hezbollah is no longer a proxy of Iran at war with Israel, but Iran acting directly.
UNIFIL Fiasco:
– UNIFIL forces in Southern Lebanon still refuse to evacuate their posts. The job of UNIFIL was to prevent Hezbollah from building a presence in Southern Lebanon—this they did not do at all.
– PM Netanyahu released a video addressing the UN Secretary-General, in an appeal to withdraw UNIFIL: “Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah.”
– The IDF released a map of Hezbollah launch sites near UNIFIL posts and other UN buildings, demonstrating how UNIFIL serves as a human shield for Hezbollah. In one instance, a Hezbollah tunnel shaft was found just meters away from, and in clear view of, a UNIFIL observation post.
– UNIFIL accused IDF troops of breaking into a UNIFIL post on Sunday morning. What actually happened: Two IDF soldiers were severely wounded nearby, by Hezbollah anti-tank fire. While evacuating the wounded under fire, an IDF tank accidentally backed up into the gate of the UNIFIL post. As soon as the fire stopped, the tank drove off and brought the injured to safety. IDF troops did not endanger the UNIFIL forces at any time.
Iran:
– Israel has finalized the plan for retaliation on Iran, but it has not yet been voted on by the cabinet. Assume this will only happen right before the attack, in order to prevent leaks.
– Anyone outside Israel’s top security officials who claim to know about the attack, is likely lying. It is being guarded as a careful secret.
– It is unknown whether Israel is capable of destroying Iran’s nuclear plants, though most analyses estimate that Israel cannot fully destroy them without the 30,000lb bunker buster bomb that only the U.S. is known to have or to be able to deliver. Israel is only known to have 5,000lb bunker busters (Israel used multiple of these bombs to get Nasrallah).
– In a video address to Israelis, hinting at Iran, Netanyahu said: “In other arenas: We will continue to take action to ensure Israel’s security. There are moments during the war when one simple rule must be adhered to, and I request that all ministers adhere to this rule: Say little and do much. With G-d’s help, we will do this and we will succeed.”
– The US confirmed that it will send a THAAD air defense battery to Israel, to be operated by US troops on the ground. This will be the first US defense deployment to Israel since the Six-Day War. The THAAD air defense is almost as powerful as Israel’s Arrow defense and will provide backup in case of a massive Iranian attack, at a larger scale than the previous.
– While the additional air defenses are good, this means Israel must cooperate with US demands to limit the attack on Iran.
Judea and Samaria:
– The Israel Lands Authority announced plans to turn the Jerusalem UNRWA building into a housing complex with 1,440 units. This comes after UNRWA was told it must evacuate the premises.
VIDEO – A Hezbollah tunnel, right under the eyes of a UNIFIL observation post:
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